Who spiked the purple Kool-Aid?

The new buzz-word around the province is “purple Kool-Aid.”
Alberta’s landowners and other opponents of the contentious Bill 19 and other undemocratic legislation are using the term to refer to Progressive Conservative MLAs’ drunken support of the bill.

Alberta’s landowners and other opponents of the contentious Bill 19 and other undemocratic legislation are using the term to refer to Progressive Conservative MLAs’ drunken support of the bill.

The “purple Kool-Aid” is purportedly the potion imbibed by all PC caucus members upon taking office with the party.

Once ingested, the potion seduces even well-meaning party newcomers to immediately and completely fall under its trance.

Case in point: recently in the Alberta legislature’s Committee of the Whole on Bill 19, a motion was put forth by opposition MLA Brian Mason to add the words “in the public interest” to the bill. Indeed, one would naturally assume that those words would, without question, be part of any piece of legislation bearing such huge effect on the people of this province.

However, such did not turn out to be the case.

After discussion was closed on Mason’s motion, PC MLAs voted unanimously against writing the words “in the public interest” into the context of the bill!